Guest article provided by: Lendzz.com
The rise of our borrowing economy, which has existed for what seems like forever, but started growing quickly under President Jimmy Carter and at lightning speed under President Ronald Reagan, has caused problems among many middle-income and working-class families. The home mortgage has been the bedrock of our borrowing economy and prior to the 1970’s, credit cards were not as commonly used. Although credit cards can offer families an easy way to finance items short term, the interest rates are high and they can cause problems within families if they’re not used wisely. On our site, we always encourage readers to use credit cards wisely for these any other reasons.
Since the explosion of credit card use in the 1980’s, credit card balances among American workers have increased year-after-year and it’s almost unheard of if an adult doesn’t own at least one credit card. We are not “anti-credit card” at Lendzz.com, but we want to make sure that our readers use them wisely, if they must use them at all. Credit cards can be a life saver in a tight circumstance and may offer users an easy way to cover an unexpected cost, but balances need to be paid off quickly in order to avoid paying interest, which is usually quite high on most credit cards.
Credit cards have become somewhat of a status symbol for the middle-class these days, where many individuals will openly discuss the number of credit cards they own, how they pay off their balance monthly, and the rewards they earn for their responsible use of credit cards. Consumers will discuss their free credit card rewards, free credit card flight miles, credit card bonuses, and other credit card perks. This is great if you can make sure that you always pay your entire credit card balance off every month and avoid paying any interest. This can become a concern, however, if you lose your job, have a drop in income, or have a hard time budgeting or controlling your spending while using credit cards.
People who accumulate credit card debt and are carrying a large credit card balance may benefit by using a debt consolidation loan or a personal loan if the rates, conditions, and terms fit your budget and if you will save by consolidating your high interest credit card rates with a single monthly payment at a lower interest rate. Whether or not a personal loan and/or debt consolidation loan would benefit a borrower will vary from individual to individual, based on that borrower’s particular set of circumstances (balances, income, terms, interest rates, etc.).
By using credit cards wisely or not using credit cards at all, individuals are able to demonstrate responsible money habits to their children and they may put themselves in a better position financially, depending on other circumstances. Within the realm of personal finance, we enjoy discussing credit card use habits with our readers, but we also encourage our readers to discuss deposit products, such as savings and cd accounts, or even look into investment plans and services, such as starting an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
In short, we encourage consumers to use credit cards wisely and avoid using them if at all possible. If you can pay your credit card balance off every month and avoid paying any credit card interest, there may be some benefits to using credit cards, such as free flight miles and other perks and bonuses, but we feel that the risks outweigh the potential benefits. Please make sure that if you do use credit cards, use them wisely, and encourage your friends and family members to do the same.
We’d like to thank our friends at AdultingDigest.com for sharing this article with their readers! *To learn more about credit cards, personal loans, and various credit services, feel free to check out our blog at Lendzz.com.